1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the operation of distributed processing computer systems. More specifically, the invention relates to an adapter layer architecture that provides a consistent protocol for interactions between clients and servers in a distributed processing system.
2. Background Art
A distributed processing environment includes two or more processing nodes connected by a communications link, i.e., a network. At each processing node, there may be at least one processor, and any assortment of memory devices, storage devices, and input/output devices such as keyboards, displays, etc. The advantages of a distributed processing system include being able to utilize the resources (e.g., files, applications, tools, storage, etc.) resident at another node in the network. However, difficulties arise in trying to utilize and take advantage of these resources in a distributed environment.
One of these difficulties is the consistent distribution of function between client and server. Another difficulty is that there are multiple client and server environments that are in common use. The “client” may be a Lotus Notes client, a Web browser, or a transaction interface. The “server” may be a Lotus Notes server, a servlet server such as WebSphere, or a custom application polling for requests. A third problem is giving the client session conversational ability. This requires storing state data on the client, the server, or both. Related to this is the problem of how to optimize resumption of that conversation at the next client request to the server. The client may have one or more prolonged interactions with the server which then have to result in a save or rollback. This requires unit of work management to isolate these changes and to understand how to update all of them at once.